Pretending Not to Love You [Entertainment Circle] - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

The main characters, Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun, are resting in their hotel room. Zuo Qiu, still lost in shyness, doesn’t notice Xiao Baijun’s unusual behavior. He tries to make conversation, saying, “Do you want to look at the script? We’re starting filming in a few days.”

Xiao Baijun sits back down on the sofa to continue watching TV and immediately refuses: “No.”

The movie they are about to make a guest appearance in, Fledgling Eagle, is a special forces film. The entire movie revolves around a 10-person special forces unit codenamed “Eagle” secretly rescuing Z-country tourists who have been taken hostage by an H-country reactionary organization. Xiao Baijun and Zuo Qiu’s roles, Cao Xi and Cao Yang, are the twin sons of one of the kidnapped Z-country tourists named Cao Hanliang. During the process of rescuing their father, the two encounter Eagle and fight alongside them.

Though twins, Cao Xi and Cao Yang have opposite personalities. The older brother, Cao Xi, is stern and quiet but has explosive combat skills, while the younger brother, Cao Yang, is cheerful, loves to smile, and is extraordinarily intelligent.

Zuo Qiu thinks that Xiao Baijun’s character doesn’t have many lines and only needs to maintain his usual cold demeanor, so he doesn’t press him further. He gathers his thoughts and begins memorizing his lines.

Knock knock knock.

Someone knocks on the door. After exchanging a look, Xiao Baijun sighs, puts his feet down, and sits up properly. Zuo Qiu, who is closer to the door, gets off the bed to open it.

The person is Lin Xiao. Seeing the door open, she asks Zuo Qiu, “We’re going to stroll along the beach, do you two want to come along?”

Zuo Qiu turns to look at Xiao Baijun, who has walked closer, and answers with a smile: “Sure.”

After closing the door, the two prepare to change clothes before heading out.

Zuo Qiu walks towards the closet, finds the clothes for both of them, and reaches out to take off his pajamas.

“Go change in the bathroom,” Xiao Baijun stops Zuo Qiu.

Zuo Qiu is surprised: “Why?”

“I’m afraid your physique might be an eyesore.”

Hearing this reason, Zuo Qiu almost curses. They have lived together for three years, and Xiao Baijun has seen him bare-chested before. Isn’t it a bit late now to say it’s an eyesore?

Xiao Baijun ignores Zuo Qiu’s protesting gaze. After watching him enter the bathroom, he turns to look at the landscape oil painting again. He grabs a pair of three-quarter length pants, similar to Zuo Qiu’s, and changes into them on the sofa.

The five girls in front of the monitor sigh in unison, disappointed at not seeing a naked man with a good figure, and return to their respective seats.

At 8 o’clock in the evening, a cool breeze blows along the beach. The group walks leisurely on the sand. Due to the filming requirements, the program crew has “contracted” this section of the beach, so even though many fans know the crew is filming here, they cannot get in.

Liu Min walks between Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun, linking arms with Zuo Qiu. She says, “In this mood and setting, I’d like to hear a song. Are Qiuqiu and Junjun willing to sing a song for us?”

Zuo Qiu smiles and says yes. He can tell that Liu Min is constantly creating opportunities for them to perform, and whether it’s for the crew or her private intentions, Zuo Qiu is very grateful to her.

Xiao Baijun basically obeys Zuo Qiu’s commands. Since Zuo Qiu agreed, he immediately starts singing.

“I can still feel your warmth in my palm, yet you say let’s not meet again tomorrow…”

Singing without accompaniment further tests the singer’s vocal skills. Liu Min privately feels that this song is more flavorful a cappella, and these two young newcomers are indeed good.

Before the show started filming, when she was informed by the director about the temporary change of guests, she specifically inquired about their backgrounds. Zuo Qiu, needless to say, comes from a scholarly family and is a good student. Xiao Baijun is even more self-evident; his family is wealthy, and as the son of the boss of Bo Le Entertainment Company, his noble temperament is a given. He is likely in the entertainment industry just for fun.

Initially, she agreed to mentor the newcomers because the program director instructed her to. She thought it was a good opportunity to build a good relationship with Bo Le and do a favor for Zhao Zhixian. However, with time, she has genuinely grown fond of these two children. Zuo Qiu is simple and sensible, and though Xiao Baijun is cold, he doesn’t put on airs as a rich young master. Everyone gets along very happily.

Liu Min looks at the two handsome men singing. As long as these two don’t ruin things for themselves, their future looks promising!

The group walks around the beach, and Zuo Qiu excitedly starts looking for small crabs.

Xiao Baijun sees Lin Xiao constantly picking up shells, while Zuo Qiu is collecting crabs, so he asks him, “What are you collecting crabs for?”

“To eat!” Zuo Qiu gives Xiao Baijun an exasperated look. The meaning in his eyes is obvious—don’t you love eating small crabs? Why are you asking the obvious!

Xiao Baijun instantly understands Zuo Qiu’s meaning and happily joins the crab-collecting ranks.

The sharp-eared Liu Min leans over, “I just heard someone say ‘eat,’ eat what?”

Zuo Qiu holds up a small crab and says: “Eat this.”

Liu Min’s eyes light up. Zuo Qiu’s cooking skills are evident to everyone. Thinking of the delicious small crabs, Liu Min also joins the crab-collecting team.

Eventually, everyone realizes what the late-night snack will be and eagerly starts collecting. Lin Xiao’s bag, which she had specifically brought for shells, is forcefully confiscated and declared public property by Zheng Yang.

Half an hour later, everyone returns to the hotel. They all sit on the sofa, watching TV while distractedly waiting for the stir-fried crabs to be cooked.

Because there are many people and they collected many crabs, Zuo Qiu divides the small crabs into two basins and soaks them in salt water. He then turns to chop some scallions, ginger, garlic, and dried chili peppers.

After soaking the crabs for about half an hour, he washes them, cuts each in half, and evenly coats the cut crabs with an appropriate amount of cornstarch. Next, Zuo Qiu heats the oil, pours in the crabs, and slowly fries them. Once the crabs turn golden brown, he scoops them out.

Washing the wok again, he adds an appropriate amount of oil. Once the oil is hot, he puts in the ginger, garlic, peppercorns, dried chili peppers, and hot pot base, pours in the pre-fried crabs, and starts stir-frying. He adds a little soy sauce and chicken powder, and finally, adds chopped scallions, cilantro, and sesame seeds. After a few more stirs, the dish is ready to be served.

By this time, the people sitting on the sofa, smelling the aroma, can hardly contain themselves. Xiao Baijun is the most direct; he gets up and rushes into the kitchen, looking at the crabs in the wok, and asks Zuo Qiu: “Is it cooked?”

Zuo Qiu takes a moment to glance at him. “One more minute.”

When the first pot of crabs is served, Liu Min and Zheng Yang are already in the kitchen, chopsticks in hand, ready to pounce at any moment.

“It’s too delicious!” The large plate of stir-fried crabs is instantly wiped clean. Lin Xiao, who had been saying she wanted to lose weight and wouldn’t eat a late-night snack, only regrets her decision was too late. By the time she finished her internal struggle and resolutely decided to eat first and diet later while watching the others fight over the food, only a few scattered pieces remained on the plate.

“There’s another pot. It will be ready in five minutes,” Zuo Qiu pops his head out of the kitchen to tell everyone.

When the second pot is brought out by Lin Xiao, Xiao Baijun does something that makes everyone drop their jaws—he grabs a small bowl and snatches a full bowl for himself.

Liu Min rolls her eyes to the heavens: “Hey, Junjun, that’s beneath you. Your fans will be shocked.”

Xiao Baijun doesn’t even lift an eyelid. Like a mother hen guarding her chick, he places the small bowl directly in front of Zuo Qiu, who has just finished working and sat down. “It’s because you guys are too ferocious!”

Seeing that they were only thinking of eating and had forgotten the busy chef, everyone feels a little embarrassed. While their mouths continue to eat, they tell Zuo Qiu to eat more.

Zuo Qiu smiles gratefully at Xiao Baijun, picks up his chopsticks, and starts eating the crabs in the small bowl. This spicy small crab recipe was taught to him by his grandmother who lived by the sea. Zuo Qiu still feels that the flavor of his cooking is slightly lacking compared to his grandmother’s.

After eating their fill, everyone returns to their respective rooms, either to sleep immediately after eating or to exercise before sleeping.

Zuo Qiu and Xiao Baijun never needed to lose weight. After showering again, it is already 11 o’clock. Tired from the day, Zuo Qiu falls asleep as soon as he touches the bed.

Xiao Baijun draws the curtains, turns off the light, and gets into bed. The room is pitch dark. After lying down for half an hour, Xiao Baijun secretly gets up and stands on the bed. He reaches out his right hand to grope the oil painting on the wall. Half a minute later, when he touches a tiny protrusion, his guess is confirmed.

Lying back down, Xiao Baijun seriously considers whether he should do something before destroying the camera, perhaps something to make Zuo Qiu more likable. But Xiao Baijun immediately dismisses this idea. He had expressed his suspicion in front of the camera today, and if he were to force Zuo Qiu to awkwardly show his merits again, it might seem intentional. Zuo Qiu has performed very well in this episode, and there’s no need to spoil it.

But if he doesn’t do anything, it seems too unfair to him to be watched for nothing. So, what should he do?